Our 2016 Philippine President

The political pot of the country starts to heat up at the maximum. This early and very clearly, politicians have already positioned themselves for the 2016 national elections. Over the media, Filipinos are continually engulfed by the maneuverings of those who aspire for power. The election fever makes the Filipino really sick, but what can we do? We are in a democratic space.

In fact, due to the democratic ideal of giving the power to the people, the office of the president sets very negligible requirements for its occupant. It is awfully minimal that it insults the passion of a grader to excel in class. Plato cursed democracy irrevocably that until today we can feel its powerful blight.

If people empowerment, however, is central in a democratic country just like ours, then the people are rightfully allowed to set their requirements for a president. These include but are not limited to paper qualification. Competence, integrity and other character traits may also be outlined in the president’s job description. If revising the constitution takes an entire epoch to attain, then in this case, the vox populi will certainly suffice.

This prompted me to bring out the researcher in me and to conduct an informal survey with only one qualitative question ‘What is your ideal Philippine President by 2016?’ I am gladdened that the responses I obtained are as comprehensive as Senator Santiago’s curriculum vitae and are as zealous as Vice-President Binay’s recently delivered defense speech.

ANTHONY JOSEPH MERCADO (NURSING SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR): “As the highest official of the country, the President not only represents the country, but in a more profound understanding, symbolizes the country itself. This personification provides us meaningful criteria by which we should measure any person aspiring to the office. Taking this grave importance into consideration, I am making my choice in 2016 based on 3 important qualities: competence, integrity and strong leadership. I deem these 3 qualities as essential for any man or woman to effectively govern the present and set a broad vision for a progressive future.”

MARIAM TABONARES (TEACHER/ DRAMATIST/ ACTRESS): “He should be someone who leads by example and makes leaders of every citizen. He needs to be well-aware of the balance among the mental, social, emotional, physical and spiritual needs of his own and the country at large. He must think global by touching the minds of every Filipino inside and outside the country.

He should give more awards to those unknown heroes of the present days like the struggle of the silent victims of domestic violence and address the needs of the LGBT who are so bravely coming out in the open. A president needs to be centered on his psycho-spiritual domain in order to rationalize and harmonize the well being of Filipinos. This starts from his own family, which we doubt why he is still single until now. I want a married president who has already set an example for the society in his own family.”

GWIN YGOT (MARINE ENGINEER/ CATECHIST): “He or she must be like Pope Francis: down to earth and very humble. He or she must be close to the people’s heart and to God. The president must sacrifice for the needs of the people instead of the people who will sacrifice. The president must be the leader for peace, patience, kindness and charity for the people.”

AN DIONALDO (BUSINESS CONSULTANT): “My ideal president does not have to be brilliant or clever, you can easily hire both. But you can’t hire decency and strong moral sense. I’m looking for a President who is less of a politician – one who is only good in delivering speeches — but more of a leader who is excellent in taking actions. I want a president who has a strategic vision (not just any vision) who promotes and executes long-term goals as opposed to near-term tactics.”

DR. RAINA CARLA YU (VETERINARIAN): “I prefer a president who can rule with both compassion and an iron fist: a president who is not easily swayed by every minuscule whine and complaint of the public and he or she should be able to stand by his or her decisions and principles. And if he or she knows an error was made, that president should be humble enough to accept the fault and apologize.”

HANDEL LOQUIAS (RESTAURATEUR): “The next president should be a person who has the heart to help the less fortunate in our country and should be strong enough to face any criticism since there are a lot of critics in our country. The president should have the power to talk to other countries for them to invest here. He or she could be more admirable if he or she can make our country a safer place to visit, away from crimes, wars, or any trouble that may harm our tourists.”

SHERYL SATORRE (COLLEGE PROFESSOR): “The next president should be someone who is an educator and a geek. I want someone who believes that the quality of education a country can give is the driving force of the nation’s progress. He or she should be someone who is a believer of technology. The president must be someone who believes in the power of technology and how it can significantly contribute to our development.”

SHAMSUL ALAM RAJU (BANGLADESHI SEAFARER): “The president should have a positive outlook for the country. In a democracy, he /she can’t be 100 % honest but I would like to have the most honest person. He or she must have superb political skill, management ability and persuasiveness. I would to take a look at his or her political career to give me an idea how he/she faced a crisis. Also, I would like to see if he/she is religious or not.”

MARWIN D. ESTREMOS (SEAFARER): “He or she never just speaks about change & progress but act on it and who can really pave a ‘straight’ and ‘narrow’ way from the rotten governance. I hope that he/she can fix this faulty system of MARINA and that he/she will also put us seafarers, at his/her priority list because as far as I know this profession is one of the leading economy lifters of our country.”

APRHYLLE DAWN GALLARDO (COMPUTER SPECIALIST): “He should be someone who has a strong standpoint and an achiever who has shown unquestionable success in his respective field. Decision-making is a vital role as he is the one leading the country so it would be important if he could fight for what he believes is right not only for his own but for the people as well.”

DR. RITA GRACE MARCON (PEDIATRIC GASTROENTEROLOGIST – ATLANTIC CITY, NJ, USA): “He or she should be someone who is intelligent, effective, honest, and experienced. Many politicians in the Philippines win elections because they make empty, unrealistic promises to the voting population. Some are inexperienced and only enter politics for their own personal intentions. The Philippines is in desperate need of a leader who will effectively address the real problems the country is facing. However, it is also the responsibility of the population to educate themselves about the candidates and vote for someone with integrity who can actually elicit change for the good of the people.”

YMARD JOSEPH TOCMO (STUDENT): “He or she must have rational, boundless and realistic vision towards the populace; must have an equilibration between upper crust and commoners; must have fearless, lionhearted, and veracious traits in giving justice especially if the violator is a pooh-bah. Above all, I want a God-fearing president for him to possess high morality so as to avoid evildoing himself and inspire the people.”

A pseudo-research survey like this may have a lot of weaknesses in technicality, but in terms of substance, certainly nothing beats the opinion of those who are free from bias and are uncorrupted by political color. Surely, the advisers and strategist of those considered ‘presidentiable’ are just so happy to receive this report gratis.

It is not the intention of this writer, though, to strip off Paul Bograd or Gabriel Claudio of their Ph.D.‘s and to make SWS, AC Nielsen and Pulse Asia irrelevant. He only aimed at checking the heart of democracy stricken by innumerable diseases which are probably caused by someone who is deemed its finest doctor – the president.